After LiveWired, I never expected my path to cross Ben Brown's again, but I'm glad it did because I fear I sold him a bit short last time out.
The Rock Café's smaller, more intimate environs suit his style much better than the sprawling stage of an empty Slawit sports centre and, once the PA problems had been resolved, he treated us to a set featuring superb interpretations of the Kinks' Sunny Afternoon, Radiohead's Creep and a variety of his own compositions.
Thing is, and this is where my first review failed him, his own stuff is better than the covers. Strong melodies, evocative lyrics and a fearless and intelligent approach to arrangement; Ben writes bloody good songs which the Q demographic will love.
Get rid of the Joe Dolce hat, though.
It's about time we got around to seeing Still Buzzin' on their own terms rather than in a support capacity. Here again, the venue suited them much better than the more open stages; it seemed to hold the sound together much better, giving a more rounded feel.
(Does that make any sense at all? I know what I was trying to say…)
I'll be blunt here; Still Buzzin' shouldn't work. There are so many things "wrong" that it should be like a really bad episode of the X Factor. The choice of material is bizarre (Bon Jovi, Blondie, U****ing2 and Kelly Clarkson should never, ever appear together in a set list - it's like putting 30 years of Now That's What I Call Music on random play).
On top of this, they don't look like pop stars; yet, they come on stage - Paul grinning like a toddler with a balloon, Steve stalking him, looking likely to steal said toy, Clive and Ian hiding in their corners, Martin hoping not to be mistaken for Gerry Adams' long-lost brother; and you can't help but want to join the party.
Then Natz sings.
The band is, without doubt, greater than the sum of its parts, but Natz is their ace in the hole. Whether she's taking the lead on Bitch, Crazy Chick or Thorn In My Side (you see what I mean about material?) or backing up Paul on Don't Want To Miss A Thing or Pride (In the Name of Love) she never misses a beat, never misses a note (well, except on Hanging On The Telephone, where she missed a whole line!)
Hmm. Pride.
It's a little-known fact that Dante's Inferno was censored by the Vatican. The original version had 10, rather than 9, circles of hell. The final ring was reserved for those worse than fraudsters, killers, traitors and heretics; it was the preserve of over-rated Irish musicians. Unfortunately, the Church of Rome, never knowingly averse to a bit of corruption, took a bung from that ****ing sanctimonious **** Bono and had him (and the gobby one from the Boomtown Rats) spared by threatening Dante with "eternal imprisonment, yea even in thrall to the dread three-headed demon, Mariah Houston-Dion".
Faced with such a prospect, Dante handed editorial control to Rome and went down the pub.
You've probably guessed, I could have done without Pride. That said, it wasn't a bad version, it's just hard to polish s***e.
Many songs - I haven't mentioned Erasure (big kudos to Paul for his vocal on A Little Respect), Brian Adams, Stereophonics, Kaiser Chiefs, Green Day, Pink - later, the band closed out their set proper with Let Me Entertain You before being tempted back to give us a SAHB-style Delilah, so ending a very enjoyable set on an appropriately strange high.
Still Buzzin' don't do school discos but, if they did, it'd probably be the best school disco in the world.
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